I do think it’s worth saying that people of faith make better leaders because faith gives us humility, faith teaches us that no one of us is greater than any other one of us, that each of us are gifted by God [sic]. Faith gives us empathy; we know that all of us can fall and every one of us can be redeemed. And faith gives us optimism, it gives us the belief that there is something better, that there is someone bigger than all of us. And so I think it’s important that we elect a leader of faith and that we elect a leader, as well, who knows that more prayer, not less, is necessary in public life and in all our lives.

With all due respect (which in Carly’s case is very little), “people of faith” seeking the Republican nomination don’t really traffic in “humility” or “optimism” or “empathy.” They espouse division, fear, intolerance, and ignorance. As we shall see, in this week’s special “This Week In Crazy,” devoted exclusively to GOP primary candidates….

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Sam Reisman is the former managing editor at The National Memo, where he still writes the weekly "This Week In Crazy" column. His writing has appeared in Flavorpill, The Huffington Post, Columbia Daily Spectator, and Bwog. He was the publisher of the 2010 edition of Inside New York, an annual guidebook to the city for students and young professionals.

Since 2011, he has co-curated and hosted Peculiar Streams, a showcase for NYC-based writers, musicians, comedians, and filmmakers. He is a staff writer at Mediaite, and blogs at SamReisman.com.

34 Comments

The fact that Donald Trump is a narcissistic, immature, political opportunist; that Carly, Marco, and the rest of the GOP field of presidential candidates say whatever it takes to satisfy the base of the Republican party, is not unprecedented, although the depth and tone of their rhetoric certainly is. What should concern every American capable of rational thinking is the support these buffoons enjoy.

As vile as the others noted in this week’s article clearly are, I’m at a loss for words to describe the actions of Donald Trump recently. The only word that comes to my mind to describe how he has been showing himself recently is SICKO!!!

Eugene Robinson offers some interesting observations on why Republican voters are now favoring Trump and Carson. You may find his article from the Washington Post of interest if you haven’t seen it. Here’s an excerpt:

As reported by the Salt Lake Tribune:

Robinson: The GOP’s self-inflicted wound

The insurrection that has reduced Jeb Bush to single-digit support while Trump and Carson soar is nothing more than the understandable reaction of the jilted. Republican leaders have spent the years of the Obama presidency inflaming GOP base voters with extreme rhetoric and wooing them with empty promises. The establishment won its goal — electoral gains in Congress and many statehouses — but in the process may have lost the party.

Unrest was brewing among true-believer conservatives even before Barack Obama took office as the first African-American president. George W. Bush had angered the base with his budget-busting expenditures for Middle East wars and a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare. What had happened to the party’s commitment to fiscal responsibility?

I don’t think they have more support than ever. I think it’s actually quite the opposite. What I see is support for these psychos steadily dwindling. The reason why it seems like it is so much is because the support they have left is louder than ever and coming out in force. If we had 90%+ voter turnout in every election in every state at every level, we would not have a strong conservative presence in our politics. The way things are trending, not even low voter turnout will keep them in power. I know next year is terrifying to some because of how much is at stake but I think once it’s all said and done, 2016 will be a disaster for the GOP.

I view this as their last great stand. The Republican party will look very different as soon as the 2020 elections. If they don’t evolve, they won’t survive. All this craziness now is going to kill them in the long run. Remember the report their “experts” gave them after the 2012 elections? They have doubled down on the things they were told to stop doing. If they continue on the path they are on now, they will lose all viability as a national party.

Getting people to vote is the key. As someone else wrote somewhere, Republicans drive by their polling place every Tuesday to make sure they don’t miss a vote, Democrats only vote when forced to do so.

It appears that some very desperate Republican men today are stooping beyond their usual rabble rousing. It’s obvious what Trump is after…arousing the militants just as Hitler did. Hitler also was a sociopathic narcissist just like Trump, Huckabee, Gowdy, Cotton and Ryan.

These are immature males who show just how immature they are with every word out opf their mouths.

What they are after isn’t government of the people, by the people, for the people. They are only after total control. That’s why they slash and burn at every turn, sequester, shut down government and generally try to prove how powerful they are and how they can FORCE others to do what they want. Isn’t that also what Hitler did?

Disagree with these control freaks and they go berserk trying to make their egotistical fantasies into reality. They do not want anyone to dare to disagree with them. As for truth, honor and facts, Hitler missed on that point as well…and now the spawn of evil is showing in Trump.

In corporations, the only gender IS male. If a woman aspires to CEO position, she must forfeit her gender in order to be part of the “old boys’ network.” The real joke is that no matter what any woman does, short of blood letting, she will never be granted full memebership in the good old boys’ network.” That’s where Fiorina made her biggest mistake –thinking she was a member of “their” club.

Most of wo have lived all our lives in the NY/NJ Metro area have always taken The Donald’s tantrums with a grain of salt. However, what Trump is proving beyond a doubt is that as soon as any money man gets the spotlight, the dark side of him comes out in full force. Ergo, Trump’s sounding like Hitler.

Wow, that is some roster of noxious scum-sucking hyperbole. New highs in lows. I must, however, latch on to what Rubio said more than these other cretins, if only because he has just gone on record (as a “potential” but nonetheless highly unlikely occupant of the Oval Office) and provided a nearly iron-clad excuse for future military/combat service conscientious objectors:

“…God’s rules always win. In essence, if we are ever ordered by a government authority to personally violate and sin, violate God’s law and sin…We cannot abide by that because government is compelling us to sin”

So, these intellectually and spiritually stunted “leaders” jump up and down and froth at the mouth and make a lot of noise and spew non-sequiturs and ignorance and illogic and historical distortions about God and country, that there must be no separation of church and state, and so on. They would be the first to assert that among God’s Laws is: The 10 Commandments. And No. 6 of those 10: thou shall not murder (variously read as thou shall not kill). Therefore, every combat soldier tasked with killing an enemy is, per Rubio, not only entitled but commanded by God to ignore such orders from officers and government.

RubioFiorinaCarsonTrumpHuckabee [a long name, but they are really all just the same multiheaded hydra monster entity] just keeps talking their pre-fab cynical claptrap to that misguided, deluded, ill-informed white male red state voter base, because without them all other things being equal the Republican’ts would have virtually no support at all.

Great point. And on top of that, would we really want to elect a president who would appoint a known felon to be part of his election campaign?? Someone who would make that poor of a judgement??

See this from MotherJones:

Marco Rubio Is Using a Convicted Felon to Help Him Win Florida

See this excerpt:

Earlier this month, when Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) named his top campaign representatives across Florida, he tapped a conservative activist named Clyde Fabretti as one of the leaders of his presidential effort in Orange County, a key district that includes Orlando. But Fabretti, the co-founder of the West Orlando Tea Party, has a sketchy background that might not reflect well on Rubio’s campaign: He is a convicted white-collar criminal with a history of questionable business dealings and associations with fraudsters. Most recently, Fabretti’s name surfaced in an ongoing lawsuit by investors in a tea-party-related media startup who claim he played a role in a company that allegedly defrauded them. And records show that the 67-year-old activist may have committed voter fraud by registering to vote and casting ballots in Florida elections when his criminal record rendered him ineligible to do so.

During the election of 1796. Thomas Jefferson tried everything in his power to keep John Adams from being elected. Then got his friends to write letters to the newspapers undermining Adams, all the while denying he had anything to do with it. Conservatives have followed that playbook ever since.

Jefferson was the left wing and Adams the right wing in the context of the day. Dishonesty among politicians has never been confined to one side, and is far older than America. Political rhetoric in the Roman Republic was characterized by foul accusations thrown in every direction, not all of them true.

Fiorina does your “People of faith make better leaders,” Include Hitler, Kim Il Sung , Saddam Hussein, Hideki Tojo just to name a few.

Rubio: The bible is not God’s rule it is 66 books written by 40 very human individuals, over 1500 years. It is their opinion and perception of what they saw and what they believe God meant or wanted. God’s law 10 Commandments and there is no mention of same sex marriage there. Since a fetus is not a humn eing there is no breing of GodThe 5th commandment does not specify aborting a fetus as murder.

Huckabee and Trump: Not worth the effort.

Cruz: Didn’t your mother tell you that you are judged by the company you keep Phillip G. Kayser, –
Troy Newman and Cheryl
Sullenger

Thank you republican party! I need do nothing today to feel better about myself. 😀
In fact I can be a perfect ahole and still feel superior.
Now Trump reached a new low, making fun of a disabled person.

“When those two (responsibilities of office and “God’s” rules come in conflict, God’s rules always win.” I can respect that but an ethical person would then resign their position if the duties conflicted with their idea of moral behavior.

Huckabee and presidential contender should not even be in the
same sentence. He is about as irrelevant as a person can be.

GOP candidates engage in all the activities the right wing has been accusing Obama of (classical projection):

– Race baiting (Trump’s “thousands of Muslims cheered 9/11”)
– Dictatorial delusion (Huck’s “ignore SCOTUS rulings”)
– Shredding the Constitution (several candidates’ claim the 14th does not apply to foreign citizens and this re-interpretation does not need an amendment to the Constitution)
– Endorsing ISIS (8+ Benghazi committees showing ISIS the US are eager to blame terrorist attacks on Democrats, not on the terrorists who carried them out)
– Being like Hitler (Trump all but endorsing a yellow badge for Muslims)
– Ignoring the rule of law (denying abortion is legal)
– Using government agencies to go after their “enemies” (Red states threatening religious orgs that help Syrian refugees with defunding)
– Promoting Sharia (Cruz, Rubio and others claiming Christian law trumps US law)
– Big government shoving things down people’s orifices (Mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds before abortion)